apparently all responded. USAF
evaluations led to a one-year ADAIR I
contract being awarded to Draken
International in 2015. This eventually
went through three extensions and
three modi cations to account for
continued growth and requirements as
the USAF sought a more permanent
adversary solution.
Over the next three years, Draken
performed the ‘Red Air’ mission from
Nellis until the formal, follow-on, ADAIR
II contract was awarded this year. Lt Col
(ret’d) Jerry ‘Jive’ Kerby is Draken’s
vice-president of operations. ‘For nearly
three years Draken International has
been operating from Nellis’, he says.
‘Besides ying the ‘Red Air’ role
alongside the 64th AGRS for ‘Red Flag’,
more than 90 per cent of our ying is
done for the Weapons School.’ Kerby
continues, ‘We are punishing ‘Blue Air’
[students] in the mistakes they make. It’s
not our plan to win. We are there to
train them.’
Most of the squadrons within the
Weapons School engage in some form
of adversary training, from the ghters
to the HH-60G Pave Hawks. ‘Nellis treats
us as if we are a permanent part of their
aggressors,’ Kerby says. ‘We get good
feedback from them and they like what
they are getting from us.’
To meet the mission, ADAIR I saw
Draken operating 11 Douglas A-4K/N
Skyhawks and latterly 12 Aero
Vodochody L-159E ‘Honey Badger’
Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA)
from Nellis. The A-4s in particular were
extensively upgraded and now feature
the AN/APG-66(v)7 re control radar, a
new radar warning receiver (RWR), and a
MIL-STD-1553B digital databus enabling
the carriage of electronic attack training
pods. Draken’s 21 ‘Honey Badgers’ have
the Leonardo Grifo-L radar. ‘We are one
solution to the shortfall of ‘Red Air’
capacity because we can provide the
numbers of aircraft the USAF would like
to have at any time,’ states Kerby. Indeed,
recent times have seen Draken ying
more individual sorties than the resident
aggressor F-16s at Nellis.
ADAIR II
The latest contract award to Draken
builds on this experience. Lt Col (ret’d)
Sean ‘Stroker’ Gustafson is Draken’s
vice-president of business development,
and he says, ‘There are many
requirements for the ADAIR II contract to
provide realistic threat representation for
the Weapons School, the 422nd TES [Test
and Evaluation Squadron], [and] ‘Red Flag’
as well as other USAF locations.’ ADAIR II
will start with a three-year contract with
two option years, lasting until
December 2023.
Draken’s ADAIR II aircraft must be
capable of ying at Mach 1.5 and of
completing sorties lasting up to 60
Above: Draken
International
procured
21 L-159E
Advanced Light
Combat Aircraft
from Czech
manufacturer
Aero Vodochody.
Frank Crébas/
Bluelife Aviation
Left: A Draken
A-4N turns fi nals
at Nellis AFB
as it returns
from a mission
supporting the
USAF Weapons
School.
Jamie Hunter
Below: The
USAF Weapons
School has a
high demand for
Draken’s services
as pilots need to
be able to work
against a variety
of aggressors
with different
capabilities. Frank
Visser/Northern
Skies Aviation
34 November 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
INDUSTRY REPORT // ADVERSARY AIR SUPPORT